The Disappearance of Rituals :A Topology of the Present
The Disappearance of Rituals :A Topology of the Present
paperback
Published:
4 September, 2020
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Description
Avoiding saccharine nostalgia for the rituals of the past, Han provides a genealogy of their disappearance as a means of diagnosing the pathologies of the present. He juxtaposes a community without communication – where the intensity of togetherness in silent recognition provides structure and meaning – to today’s communication without community, which does away with collective feelings and leaves individuals exposed to exploitation and manipulation by neoliberal psycho-politics. The community that is invoked everywhere today is an atrophied and commoditized community that lacks the symbolic power to bind people together. For Han, it is only the mutual praxis of recognition borne by the ritualistic sharing of the symbolic between members of a community which creates the footholds of objectivity allowing us to make sense of time.
This new book by one of the most creative cultural theorists writing today will be of interest to a wide readership.
More Details
| Type | Book |
|---|---|
| ISBN13 | 9781509542765 |
| ISBN10 | 1509542760 |
| Number Of Pages | 186 |
| Item Weight | 181 g |
| Product Dimensions | 140 x 208 x 13 mm |
| Publisher / Reseller | John Wiley and Sons Ltd |
| Format | paperback |
Media Reviews
“Byung-Chul Han's new book challenges the reader to go far beyond the worn-out critique of neoliberalism. On the one side, there is the progressive replacement of substance through communication, painted as a road to existential perdition; it contrasts, on the other side, with the utopian view of a return towards the security of rituals in their form and appearance. This reversal of long-established thought is expressed in a compressed and energetic language that reads like a manifesto.”
Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht, Stanford University
“The kind of book … that leads one to rethink our standard narratives of history and to see our society and era in a fresh light.”
Steven Mintz, Inside Higher Ed
“an essential philosopher for anyone wanting to diagnose what plagues the modern person”
The Gospel Coalition
GoodReads Reviews
Author's Bio
Byung-Chul Han is a Korean-born Professor of Philosophy and Cultural Studies who teaches at the University of the Arts (UdK) in Berlin. He is the author of more than 20 books including The Scent of Time, Saving Beauty and The Burnout Society.